Shadow world French filmmakers have always made good films. And if until 2000 they were best at comedies, action films, dramas and historical films, the beginning of the new century marked the large-scale development of various horrors and slashers, which, sometimes, can give odds to more than one Hollywood representative of the frightening genre. In 2010, a picture with a rather trivial, but quite corresponding to its essence, is released on the screens of the world - "Devil's Village" from a little-known director and screenwriter Fuad Benjamin. For him, this picture was the first full-length work in his career and Benjamin was able to prove himself from the best side, giving out a tense and stylish work in the best traditions of such classic horrors as Silent Hill and The Call.
The picture begins with a rather unexpected introduction, which takes us back to 1944. In a small French village, the last of the forces hold the defense of the dilapidated building two German officers. But who is their enemy? Evil shadows oozing through a wooden door, bullets flying into oblivion and inexplicable horror, breaking into the last room, which still managed for a while to defend the frightened military - something diabolical longs for inexplicable revenge and stop it can not any obstacles.
So, the main action "Devil's Village" unfolds today. A group of young people, including the main characters in the person of the sisters Emma (Christ There) and Marion (Ornell Bowle), as well as Leila (Barbar Goeng), David (Cyril Tuvenin), Lucas (Axel Kinen) and Mathias (Jonathan Cohen) go in two cars to a remote village located in a remote but picturesque French province. Expensive turns out to be really far away and travelers overtake an impenetrable night. Moreover, the guys from the first car, not much ahead of the main characters, soon for inexplicable reasons leave their car in the middle of the road and simply disappear. Having found no traces of a mysterious incident, the heroes decide to go along the nearest path, which led them to the coveted village of Ruflek. Only here the village meets them with almost complete darkness and there were no traces of their missing friends. The situation heats up at the moment when one by one begin to disappear in an unknown direction and the rest of the heroes of the journey! In addition, getting out of the village is not easy, because Ruflek is a kind of mystical Bermuda triangle. But only in contrast to the true Triangle, Ruflek has his own master, the secret of which is to be discovered by the last surviving heroes.
All the main action of the picture takes place in an ominous village. And in the conditions of one impenetrable night. The film director was able to masterfully recreate the mysterious atmosphere of abandoned streets, houses and darkly black nearby forests and threw a group of young Frenchmen from a modern metropolis into the very center of all this beauty. However, Fuad Benjamu presents us with more than just another company in search of alcohol and lustful entertainment. Every second of his heroes carries with him a secret that oppresses all their food. Nominally, the main characters of the picture are the sisters, Emma and Marion, who, according to the good old tradition, are connected by difficult family relations. And some details of their character, the director still bothers to hide, so that there is a certain highlight in them. However, there are specific moments in the picture, which were given a lot of time, but in the end they do not lead to anything. And first of all, they refer to Leyla, whose story is most intriguing. We discover the secrets of her childhood, in which there is a place to communicate with a ghost. In addition, we are given to understand that Layla is endowed with some paranormal abilities and can see pictures projected by guests from the other world. Only here it seems that the director cornily did not think out the development of the story of this heroine and brought her out of the narrative in the most primitive way. There are other, less obvious, but still striking illogicalities in the picture, but in general they are not able to radically change my attitude to the project in a negative direction.
If for some reason you do not like the images of the characters, then the film can captivate you with its stylistic top, which in the second half of the viewing turns into an exciting explanation of what is happening. And although the filmmakers do not present us with some shocking truth, watching the course of their imagination is more than interesting. Here and there, half hints appear in the frame, referring us to the final disclosure of all maps. Incredibly appearing out of nowhere drawings directly related to the main characters here and now, but looking like painted many decades ago, a Nazi military car parked nearby, a perfectly preserved library of antiques with hypothetical clues inside, an invisible enemy shooting with old weapons and disappearing into the dark, an inexplicable imprint of a human hand stalking heroes throughout the village. The picture plays with us, and we can only build various theories about what is happening. However, most of our theories break down to dust, so that all the cards will be revealed to us only by the director himself, but not by our assumptions.
No less pleased and a certain parallel of what is happening, which is somewhat similar in its recreation of the universe of Silent Hill. Reflection is both in our world and in the world of shadows, which makes it so easy to get out of the village as not to call someone for help. But “Devil’s Village” is still strikingly different from the famous horror franchise and is able to achieve passion without the use of all sorts of designer monsters, which indicates the undoubted potential of an inexperienced director.
In the end, I want to say that "Devil's Village" will please real connoisseurs of mystical horror, in which frank scenes of violence are minimized, there are no various otherworldly monsters, and there is a mesmerizing atmosphere of gloomy uncertainty and a lot of hints that make you monitor what is happening on the screen despite the long footage shot in dark rooms. I do not dispute the claim of many disgruntled viewers that sometimes the development of the plot unfolds unnecessarily slowly, but the concept of the narrative is designed in such a way that constant dynamics would simply destroy the tense aura of despair. So we adjust ourselves to the desired mystical manner and get the maximum pleasure from the picture!
9 out of 10